![]() Everything about Smithy, or Charles rather, going back home, meeting Kitty, and almost marrying her remains largely intact from the movie. The novel then switches to the third person as Charles recounts waking up in Liverpool after losing a few years of his life. Narrated by Harrison in the first person, he sits down one night with his employer, who tells him his story, or at least as much of it as he can remember. ![]() Paula never became Charles's secretary the story starts with Harrison, a character we only see at film's end, get hired as Charles's assistant and he is used as the audience surrogate the way Greer Garson is in the movie. You do not want to know what I'm capable of.įrom what I gather, the book's structure is very different. On a slightly unrelated note, if you're the monster who tore out of the last page of my Random Harvest copy and you're reading this, I will find you and I will make you do something highly horrific. I know, I cheated, so if I got something wrong in the following few paragraphs, please politely correct me in the comments and I'll make amendments right quick. So, anything I tell you about the novel, I found online. I have a copy from 1942 that I found at a library sale over a year ago, but the timing has been impossible. Greer Garson’s staggering beauty and Ronald Colman’s appealing vulnerability and emotional journey throughout the piece capture the sentimentality and dogged hope of a mid-Second World War period.Let me just say this: I haven't read the book. The film is an emotional spectacle with twists and shocks-aplenty, perfect for those unused to the genre of Classic Hollywood or reluctant to watch a black and white film (how very dare you!). Perhaps overshadowed by Garson’s other film Mrs Miniver released the same year (which was a winner of six Academy Awards including Best Actress and Best Picture), Random Harvest still earned a healthy seven nominations including Best Director for Mervyn LeRoy. And that’s just the start of it.Ĭharles Rainier’s and Paula’s (now Margaret) lives continue to spin along and meet once again (for reasons which I shan’t reveal) and reach a conclusion which will surely have the hardest of hearts reaching for a box of tissues. John Smith becomes Charles Rainier, an industrial businessman with a fortune. After a call to Liverpool for a permanent post at a newspaper, ‘Smithy’ travels up north and is caught in a shocking road accident which brings his life before the war hurtling back. After a remarkable recovery, the two decide to marry and seem to live the perfect life together with their newborn son and a promising writing career ahead for ‘Smithy’. Showgirl Paula (Greer Garson) takes pity on a disorientated and near-mute ‘Smithy’ and almost instantly falls in love with him. Shellshock and amnesia victim John Smith (Ronald Colman) escapes from the asylum in which he has been recovering on the night World War One ends, after suffering terrible injuries in combat. ![]() Set during the years after the end of World War One, Random Harvest is a sentimental, tear-jerker movie which delivers shocks and heartbreak aplenty. We begin our classics series with Random Harvest, the 1942 Oscar-nominated black and white film starring Greer Garson and Ronald Colman. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |